New Criminal Laws in 2020

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 20 No. 1
• Publication year: 2020
• Author: By Leif Dautch and Albert Camacho
• topic: Criminal Law

NEW CRIMINAL LAWS IN 2020

By Leif Dautch^* and Albert Camacho^**

The State Legislature made a number of changes last term that impact criminal law practice in California. Most of those laws went into effect on January 1, 2020. Here are five of the most important changes.

Elimination of One-Year Prison Priors

• Senate Bill 136 (Modifies Penal Code § 667.5)
• Eliminates the one-year enhancement for prior prison terms for all prior convictions other than sexually violent offenses.
• Applies prospectively to future cases and to cases still pending on appeal.

Police Officer's Use of Deadly Force Circumscribed

• Assembly Bill 392 (Modifies Penal Code § 196 and § 835a)
• Changes the "reasonable use of force" standard for peace officers to a "necessary use of force" standard. Now, an officer is justified in using deadly force only when the officer reasonably believes, based upon the totality of circumstances, that it is necessary for either of the following:
• To defend against an imminent...